Published on : Thursday, June 12, 2014
Popular demand for Nature Seychelles` innovative book, “Grow and Eat Your Own Food Seychelles,” has led to the release of a superior second edition, three years after the first version was printed. The book is about sowing, saucing, and savoring homegrown food.
“I first came across this book on the desk of a district administrator who was using it to set up a community garden,” Minister for Community Development, Social Affairs and Sports Vincent Meriton said of the book during the launch. “When I tried to get my own copy, it had already gone out of print, an indication of how popular it had become.”
The second edition of “Grow and Eat Your Own Food Seychelles” displays the copious cooking and healing chattels of endemic and rare plants, fruits, and vegetables found on the islands. This version goes further to include a list of recipes from local restaurants on preparing cocktails, salads, and other Seychellois dishes.
“An indelible part of our culture is our cuisine,” Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St.Ange said in his speech before accepting the first copy of the book from Minister Meriton. “Creole gastronomy includes plants that may seem exotic to our European tourists: manioc, yam, taro, breadfruit, plantains, snake gourd, all sorts of tropical fruits.”
The soon-to-be-opened Botanica Restaurant, and the venue of the book launch, was the perfect setting for the launch. The restaurant, which showcases traditional Creole architecture, will be serving international cuisines with a Seychelles twist. Guests at the launch sampled some of this during the event. “I spent over a year`s time visiting local farmers, sourcing for local ingredients and experimenting with new dishes on my friends,” Christelle Verheyden, proprietor of the Botanica, confirmed to her guests.
“Grow and Eat your Own Food Seychelles” has its roots, so to speak, at the Nature Seychelles` Heritage Garden at Roche Caiman. The garden has a wealth of plants used in traditional cuisine and medicine. “Forgotten” plants like the pom edwar can be found here.
Tags: Book launch encourages Seychellois to grow and eat their own food
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